1.   African mediators have been trying to arrange a cease-fire between the government of President Pierre Buyoya and the rebels to no avail.

2.   After meeting with the leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia over their six-month border dispute, African mediators Sunday were discussing the chances for peace in the region.

3.   Arriving for a series of talks with African mediators, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia was hoping for peace but prepared for a prolonged frontier squabble.

4.   At the same time, the chief African mediator in Congo, Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, has been preparing for a new round of peace talks.

5.   Feuding neighbors Eritrea and Ethiopia broke off two days of separate talks with African mediators on Sunday without agreeing on a formula to end their tense border standoff.

6.   Preliminary talks aimed at ending a six-month rebellion in Congo hit another snag on Wednesday when African mediators failed to invite Congolese rebels to participate.

7.   The foreign ministers of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Saturday refused to budge in their bitter frontier dispute after holding separate talks with African mediators.

8.   The rebel offer comes ahead of another round of cease-fire talks under auspices of Zambian president and chief African mediator in Congo, Frederick Chiluba.

9.   The rebel offer comes ahead of another round of cease-fire talks under auspices of Zambian president and chief African mediators in Congo, Frederick Chiluba.

10.   U.N. and African mediators tried for two days to arrange face-to-face talks between the two parties in the Gabon capital Libreville.